Get married at a restaurant.

Having your wedding at a restaurant solves a few problems: bad food, caterer markup, dealing with rentals, unpredictable upcharges and having to design a warm environment. We asked our favorite restaurant which date they’d consider a buyout, and boom: choosing a date became easy. (We chose New Year’s Eve.)

It also provides a real headcount max that helps you draw specific, defensible boundaries around the guest list. If the restaurant only fits 80 people, that’s your headcount, and therefore your reason to not invite Uncle Vic.